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ITV's great survivor Allen set to bow out after shares slide

THE final credits look set to roll for Charles Allen, the beleaguered chief executive of ITV, Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster.

Allen, 49, is this weekend considering his future at the head of the network just months after seeing off a takeover approach fronted by his bitter rival, the former BBC director-general Greg Dyke.

People familiar with the situation said this weekend that an announcement could be made at ITV’s interim results on August 9 or even sooner. However, they cautioned that friends and colleagues still hoped to persuade him to stay in the job and that he could yet do so.

Allen has endured an increasingly torrid time in recent weeks with ITV having a lacklustre World Cup. The BBC’s broadcast of the France-Italy final drew five viewers for every one watching ITV.

The network has also been criticised for the quality of some of its programming, and for failing